Want to play along with a Film Nerd 2.0 film festival this weekend?

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The boys have been asking me lately when they are going to be able to go to a film festival with me. They have this image in their heads of what a festival is like, and I asked them to describe to me what they thought I was doing when I was gone.

More than anything, what our conversations illustrated clearly is that the boys want to participate more in the things that they believe are important to me, and I want them to feel like they have some sense of what it is that I do. We’re reaching the end of their two weeks of spring break, and I realized that we could do something special for them here at the house, and that with just a little bit of effort, it could be the sort of thing that they never forget.

To that end, I’ve decided that this weekend is the First Annual Film Nerd 2.0 Spring Break Mini Film Festival. I’m making badges for them so they feel like they’re at a festival, and I’ll make them line up outside the office between movies while I change discs so they won’t know what’s coming next. I plan to keep the line-up a surprise from them until each film begins. In some cases, these are films they’ve been asking for, and in some cases, they’re films I was planning to share, and in every case, they are films that I think will spark some sort of big reaction.

The first batch of films we’re watching will be “The Invisible Man,” “Beetlejuice,” “North by Northwest,” and then we’ll wrap it up with “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” This will be their first Indiana Jones film, and the reason we’re watching it and not “Raiders” is because I think “Last Crusade” is the most benign of the films, nowhere near as violent or scary as the first two films in the series. Sure, people love to single out “Temple Of Doom” as the gory one, but there is plenty in “Raiders” that is dark and heavy and, at this particular point, still inappropriate for them. They know Indy as a visual icon, and they have played the Lego games, so they even know the basic story of the films. But I think “Last Crusade” gives us a chance to watch one of the films together and enjoy it without giving anyone lasting nightmares.

We’ve got plenty of other stuff in the line-up that should take care of that.

The second batch of titles begins with Jimmy Stewart in “Harvey,” and we’ll follow that up with “Beneath The Planet of the Apes.” They’ve seen the first one, and I figure this will be one of the two scariest points in the festival for them. If they make it through the end of this film, everything else should be gravy. We’ll round out day two with “Young Frankenstein” and “Empire Of The Sun.” Both of those are movies that play a little older than what the boys are used to, but I think the innuendo of “Young Frankenstein” will go right over their heads, and I think the rough edges of “Empire” are actually important for the boys as a way of grappling with some big ideas about separation.

The final day is a doozy. We’ll start with Tom Hanks in “Big,” then we’ll watch the original version of “Legend,” follow that up with “Ghostbusters,” and then cap the entire festival off with a film that Toshi has been campaigning to see for about a month now. I think it started with him seeing a spaceship on the front of the DVD and the rating “G” on the back of it. When he sees a “G,” he figures there’s no way I can argue against that film, and technically, he’s right. Does that mean he’s intellectually ready to grapple with “2001: A Space Odyssey”? I have no idea. We’ll find out.

I’m going to update with live-blogs of some of the titles, photos, and more, and if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll be able to see when we’re starting each film. I welcome you guys playing along both here in our comments section and on Twitter. This is an impromptu thing, something I just decided to put together for them, but if this goes well, then who knows? Maybe next year, I’ll try to put together a real curated theatrical event during their spring break, and maybe we can all see the films together.

There’s a chance we’re going to be doing out first Film Nerd 2.0 screening in a theater later this year, and if that comes together, we’ll let you know how you can attend with your own movie-crazy kids. I am constantly amazed by how many great people I’ve run into over the past couple of years who are really into this series, and I’ll be honest… it’s my favorite thing to write. The only reason I ever started writing about movies in the first place was so I’d be able to pass along my affection for this art form, and this has turned out to be one of the purest expressions of that. Your responses have given me permission to push further, to experiment, and to set aside time to make each of these experiences something special for the boys. I need to start figuring out what sort of food to do for the different days that might be appropriate and fun. I want this to be a complete sensory experience for the boys, something that leaves a real imprint on them.

Let me know… do you think you’ll be up for playing along at home?

In the meantime, I’ll have a new Film Nerd 2.0 up tomorrow as a preamble, a look at two ’80s films that they just watched and how they reacted to the darkest parts of each.

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I’ll be interested to see what they take away from 2001. I’m your age, Drew, and I’m still not sure I fully understand that one.

By: Chesterfield

04.04.2013 @ 2:26 PM

Exactly what I was about to say (don’t take my stuff, man!): I’m 38 and I’m never sure I’m ready for that one. Then again, it’s been some years since I saw it, maybe it’ll go down smoother now I’m older…

By: Paul S

04.04.2013 @ 5:24 PM

I’d be surprised if they didn’t fall asleep in the last hour!

By: Primogen

04.04.2013 @ 9:07 PM

I first saw 2001 when it premiered at the Cinerama theater in Hollywood in 1968. I was 10 years old at the time and it has remained my favorite film since.

By: CalistanWay

04.04.2013 @ 6:53 AM

This is a fantastic idea. Been following Film Nerd 2.0 for a couple years now and I’ll be paying attention.

By: Dfgs

04.04.2013 @ 7:11 AM

Show em Raiders when Toshi’s nine and Allen’s six, maybe?

By: waughca

04.04.2013 @ 7:38 AM

I’m 24 and without children and I find this column to be one of the best things I read on the internet. Thanks for sharing this adventure and I’m sure I’ll be stealing a bit from the Film Nerd 2.0 curriculum when I reach that point.

By: crackd

04.04.2013 @ 8:15 AM

Great idea! Can’t wait to read how they will react and how much they will enjoy it.
I have a film collection of my own and the idea of one day sharing these films with kids of my own is one of the reasons keep collecting.

By: badblokebob

04.04.2013 @ 10:26 AM

Last Crusade was the first Indy I saw, I guess when I was about the same age as your boys, and it’s still my favourite Indy film. I saw the other two about the same time however (though Temple of Doom was cut here in the UK, so…)

I also saw Ghostbusters at a similar age, which I still adore (though 2 scared me witless), and 2001, which I didn’t care for because, wtf?

So, based on the form of What I Thought, there’s some reaction predictions!

By: goodhorse

04.04.2013 @ 12:08 PM

Interesting choices and kudos to the thought you’ve put into the line up.

Not sure I agree with Indiana Jones and Last Crusade as the first one to show – I am sure Sean Connery’s presence will be missed in future instalments.

Also surprised at the inclusion of Empire of the Sun. From what I remember it was quite a challenging watch. For example, when the Japanese kid dies and Bale’s character is trying to revive him and blood streams from his mouth… some troubling stuff. But I qualify my remarks by saying I saw it many years ago now.

Looking forward to reading their responses. Thanks Drew.

By: Wozzaseds

04.04.2013 @ 12:25 PM

Good selection, although the hell hounds in Ghostbusters scared the heck out of me when I was a kid. I’ll be interested to see if they make it through that one.

By: Intellectual Ninja

04.04.2013 @ 1:24 PM

I saw Ghostbusters when I was five, Drew.

I think it will be your son’s favorite film of the day.

Of all of the films of my childhood… Ghostbusters remains the biggest tether to that time of my life while allowing me to enjoy it even more as an adult.

Ghostbusters is a perfect film. I mean PERFECT. Like Vertigo. Or Back to the Future. Or Goodfellas.

By: KlarkKent

04.04.2013 @ 2:05 PM

I saw Ghostbusters when I was around seven and it is still my favorite film because it really does have something for every age. It’s just that great of a mix of smart, scary and funny. Plus, what kid wouldn’t react to the visual iconography of it? So that’s the one I’m most interested in. I am also looking forward to hearing their reaction to Indy since I love all (yes, all) the films in that series. Temple of Doom is the first one I can recall seeing and for a long time it was my favorite. Raiders is definitely the best one though. There is a lot of great stuff in there. Harvey is a personal favorite, along with Invisible Man. Kind of interested in how they’ll take away North by Northwest given how adult the storyline and the plotting are, but how fun Cary Grant’s performance is. You’d better write a massive tome about these when they’re done, haha. (Actually, I’m surprised no one has already approached you about doing a book.)

By: jeves23

04.04.2013 @ 2:06 PM

I look forward to reading about their reactions to some of these…. should be interesting. Film Nerd 2.0 is one of my favourite movie things to read. Period. It is a great reminder of the wonder and joy and terror and heartbreak (and more!) that can be experienced through film – especially in this cynical day and age. (I sometimes read the talkbacks comments sections on other sites and wonder why these people are even on a movie site, as they don’t seem to like movies at all.)

By: cory mccoy

04.04.2013 @ 4:18 PM

Have they seen Willow yet? It might be a bit too dark for them atm.

By: murphy

04.04.2013 @ 4:33 PM

Drew, wanna tell you that I really love this series. Starting reading it and felt inspired to do something similar with my son who just turned 5 and is preparing for kindergarten. Sharing movies with him has been almost impossibly rewarding and it kills me every time when his interest in something is utterly peaked.

So far, his favorite movies have been Tron, Star Trek: TMP, The Empire Strikes Back, and Spiderman 2. I showed him Last Crusade after he was getting seriously into the Lego games and it went over like gangbusters for him. Both it and KOTCS are tame enough for most kids, but the first two are way too harsh for anyone younger than 8 IMO. Your kids are gonna lose their shit.

I think they’re gonna love Empire of the Sun. It was one of my favorites when I was seven, it just has a perfectly formed child’s view. Good luck!

By: Adrick

04.04.2013 @ 4:42 PM

You know, it’s funny, I didn’t like the idea of showing Last Crusade “first”, but then I remembered…it was the first Indy movie I saw too. :)

By: filaphresh

04.04.2013 @ 9:37 PM

I saw the Last Crusade first, too. I was five and loved The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (which are pretty kid-friendly but Sean Patrick Flanery’s acting is pretty terrible for an adult). My dad was watching it with my older brother. Dad isn’t nearly as organized as Film Nerd 2.0, so I don’t know if my brother had seen the Raiders or what. Still, at the very end, my dad thought maybe I would be too scared by Donovan’s death and I should leave the room. Of course I refused. I would have no matter what, but it ended up not being too scary.

By: Hasse

04.04.2013 @ 9:40 PM

Sounds like a lot of fun! Just a heads up on “The Last Crusade”, the aging head towards the end freaked me out as a ten year-old. But then I was fairly innocent back then. Just sayin’.

By: Drake

04.04.2013 @ 10:24 PM

I’ve actually never seen any of the films on those lists, except for MAYBE the Planet of the Apes one (my father used to constantly watch those when I was younger so I’ve probably seen it, but I don’t remember a second of it). If I can get ahold of a few I’ll definitely be watching along.

By: the flower tao

04.05.2013 @ 5:29 PM

Drew, what do you mean with ‘original version’ of LEGEND? You’re talking about the Scott/Cruise fairy tale, right? How many versions are there? I was a bit older than your boys when I first saw that one but the swamp hag reeeally terrified me. Looking forward to your write up of that one. And 2001? Awesome. Can’t wait to read this one too.